Machinery for cutting and folding paper and other material.



No. 856,571. I PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. E. H. GOTTRELL. MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.16.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATBNTED JUNE 11. 1907.

E. H. COTTREL'L. MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1906.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 856,571. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. E. H. GOTTRBLL.

MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.15. 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNTTET) sTA Es PATENT orrrcn.

EDGAR 1-1. OOTTRELL, OF STON IN GTON CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO C. B. COTTRELL & SONS COMPANY, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION OF NETV JERSEY.

MACHINERY FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING PAPER AND OTHER MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application fil d September 15,1905. Serial No. 278,548.

To rtZZ/ whom, it nm l concern-.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR H. COTTRELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Stonington, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and. useful Improvement in Machinery for Cutting and Folding Paper and other Material, of which the follmving is a specifica tron.

The object of this present invention is to provide certain improvements in machines for cutting and folding paper or fabrics and consists in mechanism whereby sheets supplied from any suitable source as, for exam ple, from a running web from which they are cut by suitable cutters, are collected on a collecting cylinder until a collection of four sheets is made when they are transferred to a second cylinder and from thence are folded on a third cylinder, from which third cylinder they are released and carried by suitable means between rotary slitters and from thence to any desired point.

A further object is to provide a machine of the above character which is arranged and constructed to permit of its being rotated at a higher rate of speed than has heretofore been possible.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a vertical section taken transversely to the cylinders, Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the means for operating the folding mechanism, Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation partially in section to show more clearly the construction and arrangement of certain. of the cams, Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the tucking and folding cylinders in end elevation and the cams for turning the folding aws and tucking blade of the folding mechanism being 40 shown partially in dotted lines, the cams for operating the grippers on the tucking cylinder and for opening the folding aws on the folding cylinder being shown in full lines, Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the releasing mechanism for the grippers on the collecting cylinder, and Fig. 6 is a diagram of the gearing for the cylinders and cutters and for some of the cams employed.

10 designates the framing in or on which 50 are the bearings for the shaft 11 of the collecting cylinder 12; for the shaft 13 of the tucking cylinder 14; for the shaft 15 of the folding cylinder 16; for the shafts 17, 18 of the rotary cutters 19, 20 and the shafts 21, 22 of the rotary slitters 23, 24. Sheets are cut from a running web proceeding from a perfecting printing machine or from any other source, by the cutters and are presented to the collecting cylinder 12 through the usual guide 25.

The collecting cylinder 12 has a circumference slightly in excess of three times the length of the sheets taken upon it from the cutters by its three sets of collecting grippers 26, 27, 28 which divide the cylinder into three equal sections. The tucking cylinder 14 and the folding cylinder 16 each have a circumference equal to one and one-third that of the collecting cylinder 12. The tucking cylinder 14 is provided with a single tucking blade 29 and the folding cylinder 16 is provided with a single set of folding jaws 30,

31, arranged to co-act with the blade 29 on the tucking cylinder. The tucking cylinder 14 is furthermore provided with a single set of collecting grippers 32 arranged to receive the collected group of sheets from each of the grippers of the collecting cylinder at the pre determined intervals.

Rollers 33, 34, are mounted in position to feed. the web to the cutters 19, 20, and a roller 35 is shown in position for confining the sheets to the collecting cylinder 12. Rollers 36, 37, 38, 39, are shown in connection with tapes 41, 42 for carrying the folded signatures from the foldingeylinder 16 to the slitters 23, 24. The cutter shafts 17 and 18 are provided with two sets of cutters so as to out two sheets during every revolution. The cutter shafts 17 and 18 are provided with intermeshing gears 43, 44 and the gear 43 meshes with an intermediate gear 45 carried by the framing 10, which in turn meshes with a gear 46 carried by the shaft 13 of the tucking cylinder 14. This shaft 13 is further provided with a gear 47 which meshes with a gear 48 on the shaft 1 l of the collecting cylinder 12 and the gear 49 on the shaft 15 of the folding cylinder 16. The relative proportions of the gears 47 and 48 are such that the gear 47 and. thereby the tucking cylinder rotate one revolution for one and onethird revolutions of the gear 48 and therefore the collecting cylinder 12. The gear 47 of the tucking cylinder and the gear 49 of the folding cylinder are of the same size so that these two cylinders rotate at equal speeds. The gears 43 and 45 of the cutters are of equal sizes and they are so timed with relation to the collecting cylinder that the cutters make one and one-half revolutions for each revolution of the collecting cylinder. The slitter 24 is driven from the gear 49 by a gear 50 on the slitter shaft 22 which meshes with an intermediate gear 51.

The releasing mechanism for the grippers comprises a cam 62 which is operated from the shaft 11 of the collecting cylinder 12 through a gear 52 fixed to said shaft which meshes with a gear 53 fixed to the shaft 54 which carries the cam 55 for operating the said gripper releasing mechanism. A rock lever 56, 57 is pivoted at 58, the arm 57 of which is connected to a sliding yoke 59 which is guided by the shaft 54 and which carries a roller 60 engaged with a cam55. A spring 61 is arranged to yieldingl y hold the roller 60 against the cam 55. The arm 56 of this rock lever is provided with the said cam 62 arranged to successively engage and open the grippers on the collecting cylinder after each set of grippers has collected four sheets. The relative speeds of the cam shaft 54 and the shaft 1 1 of the collecting cylinder are such that during one revolution of the cam shaft 54, the collecting cylinder shaft travels one and onethird revolutions. This arrange ment permits the opening of a set of grippers for depositing the four sheets onto the tucking cylinder every time the cam shaft 54 com pletes one revolution.

A fixed cam 63 is arranged in position to successively open the several sets of collecting cylinder grippers as the grippers come into position to receive the sheets from the cutters 19, 20, through the guide 25. A fixed cam 64 is arranged in position to open the tucking cylinder grippers 32 when the grippers reach a point where they will receive the group of collected sheets from the set of collecting cylinder grippers which has collected the required number of sheets. Another stationary cam 65 is arranged in posi tion to open the grippers 32 on the tucking cylinder when the grippers have reached a position for permitting the folding mechanism to operate to fold the group of collected sheets as it is delivered from the tucking cylinder onto the folding cylinder.

Stationary box earns 66 and 67 are arranged for operating upon the two parts of the folding mechanism, viz: the blade and the jaws, so as to bring the folding mechanism into co-operating engagement at the required time or, in other words, when the two parts of the folding mechanism meet during the rotary movements of the tucking and folding cylinders. Stationary cams 68, 69 are arranged in position to open the folding jaws on the folding cylinder and at the same time force the tucking blade on the tucking cylinder between the jaws for the purpose of folding the group of collected sheets onto the folding cylinder. A stationary cam 70 is arranged in position to open the folding jaws of the folding mechanism when the jaws reach a position to permit the folded group of collected sheets to be delivered onto the tapes which carry the group to the slitters hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood that the co-acting parts of the grippers, tucking blade, folding jaws and cams are of well known and approved construction and a more detailed description of the same is therefore considered to be unnecessary.

It will be seen that in operating the mechanism herein shown and described, the sheets are collected one at a time and one upon another as they are cut from the running web, until each of the sets of grippers has collected four sheets. The four sheets are then transferred to the tucking cylinder where they are engaged by the set of grippers thereon. The folding blade of the tucking cylinder is so arranged with respect to the grippers on the tucking cylinder that the folding blade will tuck the sheets into the folding jaws on the folding cylinder after the advanced edges of the sheets have been brought the desired distance past the meeting points of the tucking and folding cylinders, viz: one-half the length of the sheets. After the sheets have been folded onto the folding cylinder, the

folding jaws are released when the folded sheets are brought into position to be engaged by the tapes and carried thereby to the rotary slitters from which slitters the folded sheets are deposited onto the table or into pockets or in any other desired point, not shown herein.

The operation more specifically of the mechanism is as follows. The stationary cam 63 for the collecting cylinder is so ar ranged that each set of grippers will be opened to receive the front edge of the web just before the sheet is severed by the cutters. The movement of the movable cam 62 is so timed that it will operate to open each set of grippers after it has collected four sheets thereon. In starting the machine it will be understood that after the first sheet is delivered to one set of grippers, the set 26 for instance, the sheet is immediately transferred to the tucking cylinder because of the opening of the grippers by the movement of the cam 62 into the operative position. The collecting cylinder will then make one and one-third revolu tions before the movable cam is again brought into operative position. Bythis time the set of grippers 27 has collected two sheets and these two sheets will be transferred to the tucking cylinder grippers 32. By the time the movable cam 62 is again brought into operative position, the collectingcylinder will be rotated another one and one-third revolutions, thus permitting the set of grippers 28 to collect three sheets and immediately afterward transfer the same to the tucking cylinder. It will be seen that when the movable cam 6'. is again moved into operative position, the collecting cylinder has moved another one and one-third revolutions, thus bringing the ilirst named set of grippers 26 into position to transfer the re- 1 is delivered from the tucking cyliiniler to the quired number, viz: four, of collected sheets i to the tucking cylinder. The continued operation of the mechanism will thereafter successively transfer four collected sheets to the tucking cylinder while the first three transfers of one, two and three sheets respectively may be thrown away.

inder and the collecting cylimler is such that l the collecting cylinder is caused to rotate one sheets one at a time and one upon another directly from the cutters, a tucking cylinder, a single set of grippers thereon arranged to receive a single group of collected sheets from one of the sets of collecting cylinder grippers and a folding cylinder arranged to cooperate with the tucking cylinder for folding said single group of collected sheets as it folding cylinder.

2. In a folding machine, cutters for cutting sheets from a running web, a collecting cylinder, three sets of grippers thereon each arranged to collect a plurality of sheets one at a time and one upon another directly from i the said cutters, a tucking cylinder, a single It has been herelnbefore set forth that the geared connection between the tucking cyland onethird revolutions to each revolution of the tucking cylinder. der is thus timed with respect to the collect- The tucking cylin- 1 ing cylinder so that the tucking cylinder grippers 32 will always come into position to receive the group of collected sheets from eachv successive set of collecting cylinder grip )ers.

W hat 1 claim as my invention is:

i. In a folding machine, cutters for cutting sheets from a running web, a collecting cylinder, a plurality of sets of grippers therei on each set arranged to collect a plurality of set of grippers thereon arranged to receive a single group of collected sheets from one of the three sets of collecting cylinder grippers and a folding cylinder arranged to co-act with the tucking cylinder for folding said single group of collected sheets as it is delivered from the tucking cylinder to the folding cylinder.

Iln testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two witnesses, this 23rd day of August 1905.

EDGAR IT. CO'lllRElrli.

Witnesses: V

Ifnnmr. HAYNES, HENRY TIUEMIG. 

